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The first big march against the G-20 summit didn’t get within miles of the now-locked security fence surrounding the convention center where leaders are to meet, as police donned full riot gear to contain the crowds.

Following a peaceful rally at a downtown park Friday afternoon, protesters headed to summit site, down the broad boulevard that is University Avenue. That’s when things got less peaceful as the crowd was met by scores of officers on horseback, on foot and on bicycle. A confrontation ensued, there was an arrest and then much of the crowd dispersed. At that point a phalanx of officers cut the remaining marchers off just north of the U.S. consulate, herding them into a cul de sac that then forced them back towards where they had started. Protesters plan another march Sunday afternoon, but organizers of that event have planned a route that keeps participants well away from the perimeter fence. – Monica Gutschi

TORONTO — The European members of the Group of Eight leading countries failed to make any headway in their quest for a global tax on financial transactions Friday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said between sessions of a day-long meeting of heads of government.

“I have to say that the readiness to do something on this score wasn’t there,” Merkel told German television, according to a transcript released by the chancellor’s press office. “I think that this (attitude) will be reinforced tomorrow at the (Group of 20) summit with the emerging countries.”

TORONTO — European policy makers must show they have a “Plan B” ready for after the stress tests which includes being ready to pump money into the region’s banks, if needed, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Secretary-General Angel Gurria said Friday.

In an interview with Dow Jones Newswires on the sidelines of the Group of Eight and Group of 20 meetings this weekend, Gurria said, “You have to make people understand what happens after this has occurred.”

“If you’re ready to capitalize, you should say so. If you’re going to use the (European backstop) facilities, you should say so,” Gurria added, emphasizing “markets should know.”

The European Union signed up this month to carrying out and publishing stress tests for 25 key banks in the second half of July. Gurria said the G-20 meetings this weekend would be an opportunity for
European leaders to show they are ready to handle any problems revealed by the stress tests.

TORONTO—There was a guy in a pirate outfit. There were the socialist cheerleaders in black and red, shaking pompoms ingeniously created from garbage bags. There was a gentleman in a tartan kilt and cap.

And there were several clowns, including “Ever Ready,” decked out in camouflage, a red rubber nose, a pink boa, a purple dust mop and a medieval helmet with face mask. No knee pads, though: those were taken away by the police that surrounded the diverse group of protesters who gathered at a downtown Toronto park Friday to protest the Group of 20 summit to be held in the city this weekend.

“I can’t have kneepads, and look at all the gear they have,” Ever Ready, who would give her name only as Gwendolyn and her age at around 60, said of the dozens of police surrounding the park.

The police presence was significant, given the relatively small crowd that came out for the Day of Action organized by labor unions and left-wing groups.

Those protesting the G-20 summit in Toronto won a small victory Friday after a Canadian judge ruled police could use a sound cannon under limited circumstances only.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the Canadian Labour Congress had applied for an injunction against the use of the device to control crowds, arguing it could cause permanent hearing loss if used against the crowds expected to gather outside the Metro Toronto Convention Centre where the G-20 leaders are meeting.

Acknowledging that fact, the judge ruled Toronto police could use the device to communicate with the crowds, but not use the ear-splitting “Alert” function. Given the force’s current operating procedures for the sound cannon, the judge ruled that “a very real likelihood existed that demonstrators might suffer damage to their hearing.”

Small talk apparently reigned supreme at Naoto Kan‘s first meeting as prime minister with U.S. President Barack Obama.

Their chat began at a welcoming ceremony ahead of a Group of Eight summit, at a resort north of Toronto, according to an official who was there.

It must have been a long trip for you, Obama said. Yes it was, 12 hours, Kan replied. Well, I’ll pay you back by taking a long trip of my own when I go to the November APEC meeting in Japan, Obama said.

They then moved on to the G-8 working lunch, where the two sat next to each other.

There was wide space between their chairs. This space is like the Pacific Ocean between our countries, Kan said.

Yes, and since I was born in Hawaii, I consider myself a Pacific President, Obama said.

They also revealed their shared fondness for green tea ice cream, a staple dessert item at Japanese restaurants in the U.S.

Their small talk came to an end as lunch got under way, and the leaders turned their attention to weighty topics such as world economic growth and financial rule changes.

The next official meeting between Obama and Kan, expected this weekend, likely won’t be quite as light-hearted, as they are expected to chat about North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan and economic policy. But ice-breaker comments at the start of the meeting may be a good idea. Maybe they can praise each other’s World Cup teams?

TORONTO—Leaders of the Group of Eight leading countries generally agreed at a working lunch Friday that in the short run, support measures to ensure economic growth should be maintained, a Japanese official said.

But the leaders also agreed that in order to keep the global economy growing, government debts and deficits need to be reduced and trade liberalized further, the official told reporters.

And the leaders agreed that while the world economy is recovering faster than expected, they were also concerned that unemployment in developed countries remains high, according to the official.

TORONTO – As Group of 20 world leaders gather Saturday, one will be sorely missed by President Barack Obama: recently ousted Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, a liberal polyglot who was one of the president’s more-favored foreign compatriots.

Plagued by poor polls in an election year, Mr. Rudd was booted by his own party Thursday chiefly over his handling of a plan to implement a hefty mining industry tax. He would have had a one-on-one meeting with Mr. Obama Saturday. Instead, Australia will be represented at the summit by Treasurer and newly installed Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan.

While most of those gathered at a Toronto park Friday for a communal rally were milling about quietly under a watchful police eye, one guy was blowing his own horn. Seamus Wolfe of Ottawa was delivering a few blasts from his bright yellow vuvuzela, saying he wanted the people’s voices to be as loud as that of the world leaders. With only one vuvuzela rising above the chatter, the sound was more like a lonely bull than the irritating buzz World Cup watchers have been dealing with.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan discussed the need for “wise” debt reduction that won’t weigh on economic growth, a Japanese government official said, with Merkel saying that improving fiscal health needs to be done in a wise, sustainable way, said the official.

Kan replied that fiscal reform must be conducted together with measures to generate growth and to limit deflation, including creating medical and nursing-care jobs to deal with Japan’s aging society, according to the official.

Merkel and Kan also discussed whether financial-sector regulations need to be strengthened.
Kan said that Japan’s financial sector came out of the turmoil triggered by the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers relatively unscathed, according to the official. Kan also said that before tightening rules the impact on the economy and the situation in each country need to be considered, the official told reporters.

About G-20 Dispatches

G-20 Dispatches offers news, analysis and commentary from the sidelines of the conferences Group of Twenty, where world leaders tackle key issues facing the global economy. Contributions come from reporters and editors at The Wall Street Journal, WSJ.com, Dow Jones Newswires and more. Find complete coverage of the G-20 at WSJ.com/G20.